Blaine Luetkemeyer: “I want to start by thanking Chairman Hensarling for his support of this legislation and his dedication to a more…”

“I want to start by thanking Chairman Hensarling for his support of this legislation and his dedication to a more reasonable regulatory regime. I would also like to thank my good friend, Representative David Scott from Georgia, for being a cosponsor on the Democrat side and for all the hard work and support he has given us throughout this labor of love here on trying to get this thing done. He has been a champion for us, and we thank him sincerely. Today, the House will consider H.R. 3312, the Systemic Risk Designation Improvement Act of 2017, a bipartisan piece of legislation to address an inefficient regulatory structure by accounting for actual risk, rather than the size alone in the designation of systemically important financial institutions, or SIFIs. Under the current regulatory framework for SIFI designations, any bank holding company with more than $50 billion in assets is subject to enhanced regulatory supervision and special assessments. This approach fails to take into account differences in business models or risks posed to the financial system. It has real world implications, too, stunting economic growth and limiting access to credit. The risk of a traditional bank is not the same as an internationally active complex firm. In fact, the Fed has produced data showing the risk of every single midsize and regional bank which pales in comparison to risks posed by many and almost all global systemically important banks. H.R.…”